Rotary displacement steam engine

Abstract

A steam engine of a simple constitution capable of efficiently obtaining mechanical energy not only from a heat source of a high temperature but also from various heat sources in a low-temperature state such as the exhaust heat of an internal combustion engine. The engine comprises a displacement engine 1 having a rotor 13 that rotates, a steam-generating portion 2 arranged thereunder and a condenser 3 arranged thereover. Water heated in the steam-generating portion 2 becomes the steam which is fed into the displacement engine 1 , enters into an operation chamber that moves up, rotates the rotor 13 and is, thereafter, fed into the condenser 3 where it is condensed to turn into the condensate. The condensate falls on the rotor 13 on the lower side due to gravity, and is refluxed into the steam-generating portion 2 through the operation chamber that moves downward with rotation of the rotor 13 . The steam engine efficiently operates even at low speeds, requires no pump for refluxing the condensate, and is constituted in a compact size.

1. A steam engine, comprising:
 a displacement engine having a rotor that rotates; 
 a steam-generating portion arranged under the displacement engine and being communicated with the displacement engine to generate steam by heating a liquid contained therein; and 
 a condenser arranged over the displacement engine and being communicated with the displacement engine to condense the steam of the liquid, 
 wherein the rotor is provided with a plurality of operation chambers, a volumetric capacity of the operation chambers increasing on a side that is moving upward with a rotation of the rotor, and decreasing on a side that is moving downward with the rotation of the rotor, and 
 wherein the steam of the liquid generated in the steam-generating portion is fed into the operation chambers on the side moving upward with the rotation of the rotor, and a liquid condensed by the condenser is fed into the operation chambers on the side moving downward with the rotation of the rotor and is refluxed into the steam-generating portion. 
 
     
     
       2. The steam engine according to  claim 1 , wherein a vacuum pump is connected to the condenser, and a pressure in the condenser is set to be a saturated steam pressure of the liquid. 
     
     
       3. The steam engine according to  claim 1 , wherein a level of the contained liquid is set in the condenser in a state where the steam engine is not in operation. 
     
     
       4. The steam engine according to  claim 2 , wherein a level of the contained liquid is set in the condenser in a state where the steam engine is not in operation. 
     
     
       5. The steam engine according to  claim 1 , wherein the volumetric capacity of the operation chambers increases in a lower side of a transverse center axis of the displacement engine and decreases on an upper side of the transverse center axis of the displacement engine. 
     
     
       6. The steam engine according to  claim 1 , wherein a magnitude of a rotational torque acting on the rotor is irrespective of a rotational speed of the rotor. 
     
     
       7. The steam engine according to  claim 1 , wherein a surface of the rotor comprises an elastic member for elastic deformation. 
     
     
       8. The steam engine according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a vacuum pump connected through a pipe to a steam reservoir portion of the condenser. 
 
     
     
       9. The steam engine according to  claim 8 , wherein an end of the pipe is inserted in the steam reservoir portion of the condenser and another end of the pipe is connected to the vacuum pump, a check valve being placed through the pipe between the steam reservoir portion of the condenser and the vacuum pump.